


Homestuck One-shots

by Prince_of_Heart



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Drabbles, F/F, F/M, Homestuck AUs, M/M, Merstuck, Multi, One Shot, Shorts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-04-17 19:46:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14196393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prince_of_Heart/pseuds/Prince_of_Heart
Summary: This is mostly to get myself back into the writing process and seeing as I try not to judge any ships, as long as it's not incest I'm taking requests! Of varying degrees of sfw/nsfw because that's also something I'm okay with. (But until a sexual chapter comes up I'm just rating this Teen & Up).I'll also just post whatever comes to mind here if I drabble on.





	1. Head's Up

DESCRIPTION REPOST: This is mostly to get myself back into the writing process and seeing as I try not to judge any ships, as long as it's not incest I'm taking requests! Of varying degrees of sfw/nsfw because that's also something I'm okay with. (But until a sexual chapter comes up I'm just rating this Teen & Up).

I'll also just post whatever comes to mind here if I drabble on.

Mostly just because my fire for Homestuck was stoked again and literally cannot be diminished. You really NEVER escape this fandom. <3

 

In case you were thinking of a pairing you would like to see, you don't need to be too descriptive. It can be anything from "Jade/Fef!" to an entire soliloquy. I don't really mind. Like I said, the only thing I will not condone is incest ships, aka ectobiological siblings or otherwise and especially N O STRIDERCEST. Sorry. But not really. Everything else goes! Even crackships.


	2. Restless Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> //A Merstuck DirkJake short that I had in my mind. It's kinda cute tbh. I might even eventually make a full story out of it.
> 
> Let me know if you want a part two to any of the shorts I write on this!

"Hold up, Harley!!"

 

The wind sure was brisk today, sending the unusually icy waves of the Atlantic-Caribbean ocean crashing up on the rocks. Whether or not the water had changed the wind or vice-versa was left to speculation, but it sure had been getting awful cold lately on their little slice of tropical island. An outsider would view it as a paradise, with copious amounts of dark greenery, stunning white sands, and enough seashells washed up on the shore to build a castle out of. But of course, nobody had visited this island in ages. Something of a tall tale throughout the equatorial waters that kept wandering seafarers at bay. Tales such as those that included great mythic sea monsters, disappearing ships, catastrophic oceanic storms, and most recently; pirates.

 

But the few that actually inhabited the land knew better. All of this was true of course, minus the pirates. As far as Jake knew. But then again, even as adventurous as the young lad was, he had never gone so much as far as the reef along the crescent side of his island, and he had not once seen any ships, and so he wasn't very afraid. At the very moment, his mind was preoccupied with catching his younger cousin, a lanky young girl who squealed when he shouted after her and picked up her barefoot pace, managing to miss every seashell she could have possibly stepped on along the way.

 

Jake's grin grew a little bigger, tailing after her flagging black hair, dogging a good foot behind her with the sheer speed of her sprint. He watched her as she made a sharp turn on the beach and disappeared around the corner of the bluffs, having made Jake skid and nearly trip trying to keep up.

 

"Blimey! Jade! Do be careful! If you get hurt, Grandma is going to kill me!!!"

 

He took the corner at a much more leisurely pace, dropping from a mad dash to a jog at the very least to clear the cliff-face without having to bump into the sharp rocks that came with the rise of the land. But when he first turned the corner he couldn't see her at all, and with his adolescent legs screaming in protest the boy took a moment to catch his breath, head swiveling left, and then right, towards the open ocean. She wouldn't dare go into the water here. Even at her young age they both knew much better than to play in water so deep, and usually kept to the shallows on the other end of the isle. That still didn't keep Jake from peering down at the dark blue abyss as he heaved another breath, and the outline of ominous volcanic crags that loomed up from the underneath. He couldn't see much more than three feet of the drop off before it became suddenly too dark to make out clearly, and with a shudder he looked ahead again as he called out for Jade another time, a little softer now.

 

"Jade?? Are you hiding from me?"

 

Although the thought of hide and seek seemed rather fun and had Jake beaming again, he still took his next few steps along the disappearing shoreline a lot more carefully than he had been. Slowly but surely, the dry sand was becoming a little harder to come by, and his sneakers made a soft, wet crunching sound as the ground became damp. Soon enough there was only wet sand up to the very cliffside, which is what he stuck to now as a guide as he walked on. Just ahead of him was a bit of a natural arch in the land, likely carved out of the ancient seas efforts and limitless time. The rock face was becoming smoother now from being worn down by the salt water and the harsher air that tended to hit this side of the island, and while it tousled his messy brown curls now, it only sent a chill down his spine.

 

He checked every small crevice in the cliff for Jade, but no, she was in none. Nowhere in sight, and he was beginning to actually worry. If she had actually managed to get lost, well, both Grandma and Grandpop would have his head. She was only 4 years old herself and it would be all his fault for starting this game of tag. He couldn't live with the guilt. What he would do to have their loyal canine companion with him right now. He would be able to sniff her out. But then again, if he wasn't here already she mustn't be in any real trouble. That dog had some kind of sixth sense!

 

"Jade?... Come out, come out wherever you are??"

 

In almost immediate response to his call, Jake could hear Jade giggling from just a bit ahead and felt relief wash over him. The crunching of his feet picked up as he jogged towards the outcropping with a bit of renewed hope. But he wasn't fully able to shake his fear until he started through the space in the rocks and caught sight of her again. Letting out a huge sigh of relief, Jake felt his shoulders physically slump a little when Jade came into view.

 

"Oh, there you are! Thank goodness. You had me honestly scared there for a moment, you little rascal."

 

She was crouched down at the moment, one arm still overwhelmingly full of the seashells she couldn't help but grab, and the other reaching into the sea to play with the water with her back turned from him. She giggled again at some sort of inside joke she must have in her silly little girl head, but when Jake started to make his way over she turned to look at him and smiled real big, splashing the seafoam as she did.

 

"Jake!" Sticking out her free arm she made a grabbing motion towards him and he came closer.

 

"Yes, yes! It's me. What on earth are you doing out here? Trying to give me a heart attack, huh?"

 

Some of her shells were scattered in a pile in front of her that the sea lapped up lazily when he came up beside her. He went to crouch and pick her up, but when he barely had an arm wrapped around her she turned her attention back to the water and made the same grabbing gesture.

 

"There's a big fish!"

 

"A big one huh? What kind is it? A marlin? Did you see any sharks?"

 

Jade was practically beside herself with laughter, sitting her butt back down in the wet sand and making Jake click his tongue and tut at her.

 

"Nanna is really going to get mad at you for ruining your pretty skirt."

 

She seemed to ignore his worries completely though, as kids are prone to do and reached into her pile of shells to hold up something blue for him to see. Jake held out his hand palm up and let her dump her little fist there, and when she let go he raised his eyebrows. Maybe she could have picked it up midway chase, but he really couldn't remember her having found this earlier.

 

"Sea glass? Where did you get this?"

 

Almost immediately, Jade had her hand back over the water, her little eyes glimmering with amusement.

 

"The big fish! He gave me shells."

 

As nonsensical as it was already to think that there was a shell-bearing fish in these waters, Jake couldn't quite wrap his mind around where else she would get it from. Not to even mention that nobody on this bloody island really had any glass items. Especially not after their Grandma had made such a fuss about pollution. So how could this have just been found along the sand?

 

"Really? Did he now?"

 

Jade was nodding, already turning back to her small collection of shells that weren't piled in her skirt and Jake stole a glance at it. Most of what she had in front of her was of the same baffling variety. Not one, not two, but at least four more decent-sized chunks of colored sea glass, and to top it all off, a lovely sand dollar. Perfectly in tact. Feeling a little more than confused, Jake reached for it and Jade let him pick it up and turn it over. It could have maybe been left along the sand by a tourist, although the only shops were located far east. But that was thrown out the window when he realized it was genuine and not plastic.

 

"How did you- Jade. Where is this fish?"

 

Looking up at Jake with wide green eyes, Jade seemed to take a moment to process this for a moment before looking down at the water and Jake followed her line of sight. Nothing but that same, harsh incline into the deep. And beneath the shadows cast by the overhang they were currently beneath, he couldn't see a single thing below. Something about that pitch blackness and what kind of fish it might hold should be highly disconcerting to him, but his curiosity was quickly beginning to get the best of him. He was more in wonderment as to how Jade might've reached these things when the nearest crag was at least three and a half feet deep and would have easily eclipsed her head.

 

"Can you show me?"

 

Nodding so vigorously that it sent free-flying hairs in every direction, Jade squirmed until she could get up and dropped down onto her knees in front of the water. Her face got visibly more excited as she sifted through the seashells he had remembered helping her pick out before this entire chase had started. And then, after deeming a small, round black scallop shell perfect for whatever she needed, she held it out in her little fist. Above the bottomless water.

 

"He likes the smooth ones. Not the curly ones."

 

Jake cast a confused glance towards her face, but Jade was smiling as she easily let the shell drop into the sea. When he looked back, the last trace of its sinking was already gone, and the ripples were just subsiding from its voyage into the deep. It took a good minute of staring, but still nothing happened, and he furrowed his eyebrows. Maybe Jade had just been imagining the fish in the first place. She was a rather bright child after all, with many big dreams, and it honestly made him feel a little silly to even think for a second that there was a fish out there trading seashells with his young cousin.

 

"Jade, that was a waste of a-"

 

She suddenly shrieked with joy and had Jake nearly jumping out of his skin.

 

"Look! LOOK!"

 

Her grubby little hands jabbed at the water, and she was jumping up and down like she'd just gotten a pony for Christmas. And through it all, Jake was utterly confused. He still would be had he not looked down, and directly into the _big, golden eyes of a boy._

 

He was underneath the waves, and one of his arms had come up out of the water while he wasn't paying attention. He watched in silent shock as his _webbed fingers_ came up to Jade. She cupped her hands and held them out to him as if she'd done it already, probably 5 times before if Jake had counted the shells right. And in her empty hands, he had placed an upturned shell, glittering on the other side like abalone.

 

**_Jumping Jehoshaphat._ **

 

.

.

.

 

The wind sure was brisk today, sending the unusually icy waves of the Atlantic-Caribbean ocean crashing up on the rocks. Whether or not the water had changed the wind or vice-versa was left to speculation, but it sure had been getting awful cold lately on their little slice of tropical island. An outsider would view it as a paradise, with copious amounts of dark greenery, stunning white sands, and enough seashells washed up on the shore to build a castle out of. But of course, nobody had visited this island in ages. Something of a tall tale throughout the equatorial waters that kept wandering seafarers at bay. Tales such as those that included great mythic sea monsters, disappearing ships, catastrophic oceanic storms, and most recently;  ** _mermaids_**.


	3. She Will Be Loved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> //I wrote this specifically for Roxy.

The pounding just kept getting louder. One could always blame it on the downpour outside but, that would be a lie. Another pause, and it came back again, just as persistent every time. A fist knocking against a dark house in the latest hours of the night. Not even the luminous glow couldn't cut through the petrichor and dusk. But when the first signs of life cracked open the door, there was enough artificial light radiating outwards that it nearly blinded the twilit visitor out on the patio.

 

Being absolutely drenched with rain had the tendency of leaving his normally styled hair stuck to his head and drooping in his face where a pair of sharply angled sunglasses were left askew. But despite his lack of intelligence in clothing choices leaving his tank top his torso's only protection from the chill, he wasn't shaking, and seemed to look up when the house-owner stood in the door.

Roxy Lalonde, hair an absolute slept in mess of pink and stark white curls had flung the door open and stood there, huddled up in a big pink blanket. She sniffled and he seemed to snap out of whatever kind of stupor the weather had put him in, shaking himself out a little bit to step up and push past her into the warmer, inner sanctum of her large flat.

 

The door clicked behind him in the disquiet and with a soft shuffling, Roxy pushed past him and left him on the carpet with only a call of; "'m be right back" before she disappeared around a corner of the house. He didn't move, either out of respect or the fact that he was still flexing his reddened fingers to bring life back into them. But it didn't matter because she was back before too long with a big towel coddled around her already blanketed shoulders. She went to reach back and grab it, but he was quicker, and the moment she was within range he took it for himself. Lifting off those sunglasses to reveal the ever present dark bags under his eyes, worse now, while he wiped the rain from the plastic and put them back on.

 

"Jane says you weren't answering her calls."

 

He really seemed to have a way with subtlety, didn't he? Roxy glanced to a picture hanging on the wall off to her side. One tragically elegant woman coddling a baby girl with curly hair, looking down at her with something akin to fondness. There was only one photo.

 

"Roxy."

 

Snapping back to attention, the latter went and let out a little laugh, waving her hand at him from between her clasp on her blanket cape. "You know how Jane just worries and worries, DS. My phone was dead!"

 

"You left my messages on read, too."

 

"Maybe Frigglish opened it up? You know how smart that little-"

 

" ** _Roxy_**."

 

Ooh, she hated it when he used that tone with her. She hated how easy he could see through it all like these walls weren't hard enough to build with only paper. While she was lost in these thoughts, Dirk had taken the liberty of reaching out and rubbing a thumb across her cheek, just below one eye. She knew he would see where she tried to wash off the tracks of mascara. He always saw. Almost instinctively she wanted to lean into that touch, just a little. But the way he clicked his tongue told her otherwise, and when his hand fell away for a moment, it found new reprieve on one of her shoulders, easing her around the other direction.

 

"Come on."

 

Obediently filing herself in front of Dirk, the two of them made their way past the main hall and into the lounge up front where the television was already on and casting a blue tinted light across the rest of the room. He had to be scanning the open tub of icecream on the couch already, but he said nothing about it and continued to lead Roxy on with a cold hand on her shoulder, only pausing to turn off the tv as they went. 

 

"I'm not really that tired-"

 

"I know."

 

Sighing as they turned down another short hall that lead to her room, she had kinda known already that this was where it would all head. He wasn't going to let her just keep brushing it off, and she knew that. But she still hadn't wanted the day to come when it all just- stopped. By the time her door came into view, Dirk's hand fell away while Roxy's own turned the doorknob and let them in to the dark. A small, pink kitty nightlight on in the corner just enough to outline the mess of her bed. But everything was an organized mess, is what she would like to say, anyways.

 

"I-"

 

"Alley-oop."

 

Before she could so much as protest, Dirk had knelt down to scoop Roxy up in his arms, damp self and all, carried her to the bed and laid her down. She squirmed a little in her blanket cocoon before rolling over once and looking up at him from where she was by the way. Dirk sat down art the edge of the bed and sighed, reaching under his shades to rub at his eyes. He'd probably been back to insomnia lately. Roxy didn't want to think it was her fault, undoing all of Jake's hard work lately to get the guy to sleep at a normal time rather than not at all. 

 

"This is about you, not me."

 

There he went, reading minds again and causing Roxy to shrink back in her little cocoon until half of her face was covered. Both of them like that, in a soft silence for what felt like an hour. But he'd been doing all of the talking thus far, and that left her feeling a little guiltier.

 

"I'm fine."

 

"You're not."

 

"... But nothing happened."

 

"Something had to have, Ro. That's why I'm here."

 

Hearing him use his exclusive nickname for her had tears springing to her eyes, to the point where she had to look away, trying to blink away the tears. When she didn't respond right away, Dirk spoke up again.

 

"Something must've happened to set you off. You're not usually so reclusive when it comes to dead cats or spilled milk. So it's gotta be big. And you're going to tell me about it."

 

"Nothing happened though!.. It's been happening, for a while."

 

Dirk's head tilted just enough. She knew he was watching her from the side of his eyes now since she's raised her voice a little. He would hear it break. He always heard. How the hell had she let somebody read her so easily? She knew he was calling her name again, but her mind got all fuzzy when she was like this and she didn't immediately respond. God, she hated this. She slowly registered that he had reached out for her, barely brushing his hand over her forehead. Checking her temperature? Looking for a reaction?

 

"I just feel _alone_ , Dirk."

 

Frozen for a moment, it almost seemed like Dirk didn't know whether or not he believed her for a moment.

 

"Rox, you're surrounded by people."

 

"Heh, yeah! That's why it's so easy."

 

Lifting her head out just a little bit so that she could speak more clearly, Roxy sucked in a breath, and didn't even notice when she just. Broke. Let it loose.

 

"Everybody's got a somebody but me. You an Jake are always together now an like, I helped to make all that magicks happen so I gotta let you be. And Jane doesn't talk to me anymore unless it's for something she wants done. Rosey is all married now and too busy for her mom, Dave's a bigshot, and that little man John is usually busy wranglin' everyone together and I might be ruling this place but I just don't know what to _**DO** _ with myself! I don't-"

 

Dirk was at the end of the bed, and then she was in his arms, almost immediately clinging to him despite how damp he still was. That flash-step never surprised her anymore, but it always surprised her, how warm his hugs were. How nice it felt to have a friend kiss her forehead like he did, and just, hold her.

 

"Who told you, you weren't loved?"


	4. The Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> //Ready for some McDepression!?!?!?!
> 
> Dirkjake. SAD Dirkjake. Like real sad.  
> Also, this is out-of-game off-shoot timeline kinda deal. Jane and Jake, did not have contact with either Dirk nor Roxy. The game exists, but they had not played it seeing two players would make it incredibly difficult, and they had no guidance from cherubs.
> 
> TW:  
> Suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, major character death.
> 
> Both raw Sodium AND Lithium are highly reactive when in contact with water and do not combine well  
> Keep that in mind.

_Deep_.. That's one way to describe it. Staring down into abysmal blue expanse every single day of your life. You'd think that with the changing of the waves, there would never be boredom. But that wasn't true.

 

The ocean was deep, and dark, blue, and- an end. He'd always thought it was redundant, calling water endless. There's always a point where there was no sunlight. A depth without heat. Pressure that could hold no signs of life. Big, deep, dark, blue, pressure; pushing down on you. Constantly.

 

Until you drown.

 

Against your entire volition, while you sink, no matter how loud your mind and body scream for air when there's none around, right before you black out you're going to gulp. And the salt will fill your lungs, more pressure. Documentation says it burns worse than fire. Always under pressure. And while your orifices fill with water, if you aren't brought back to the surface, you sink. 

 

Like weathering a rock, chipping away, away; you'll sink. And your body will bloat, and surely rot. If the fish don't get to you first.

 

 

These are the kind of dismal thoughts that Dirk just barely snapped himself out of in time to notice the sun was setting. The horizon slowly set the waves aflame, making the sea look like cresting fire in the dying sunlight. It was the only thing that was ever different in these parts. In an era of isolation, all alone. Nothing but the same lonely floor of an otherwise sunken apartment complex. Steel grids and stucco. The same postered walls, only one way out into the world, and two directions to go.

 

Up the sole, slowly rusting ladder rungs to the rooftop where the air conditioning units had long since ceased operation. Or down. He could always let himself drop. He knew he could.

 

He turned his gaze back down, to the waves. Crashing slowly against the side of the four iron girders that he sometimes felt would never wear away.

 

If the fall and the impact didn't break his back on the first try, he'd be left sore and without the balls to end it himself. And believe him, he'd tried. The man had an overabundance of shitty weaponry and an unbreakable katana at his disposal. Motor oil to drink. Or soda he could choose not to. Open circuitry with a kick of 0.2 A that could maybe get his heart to fibrillate. But with his luck, it would just leave him suffering and paralyzed.

 

To be entirely honest, Dirk was afraid to die. He always had been. Or maybe it was the possible side-effects if he'd attempted to and messed up. Living his last suffering moments paralyzed, or with severe bodily burns, without a single soul in the world to know what happened. Roxy might. If she was here anymore. But that's the funny thing, about being the last two living beings on the face of this hellscape of an earth. When you had vodka, you tended to drink to death.

 

When you didn't, you eternally mourned the loss of your only friend in an uncomfortably small apartment, stopped progress on all of your projects, and slowly but surely began to spiral into insanity. At least, that's what his logic told him. This is where he was now. Too smart to die, and too dumb to live.

 

Dirk was terrified of death. But he never wanted anything more than he wanted it.

 

Forget cliche's about a sweet embrace or an eternal sleep. He didn't care if it was painful, but he wanted it to be quick. He had managed to slice open his neck once, only to back out last second and regret it since. Now every time he saw that flat-line scar in the mirror he felt worse about himself. As if he hadn't already.

 

To think, she used to tell him all the time about the teleportation bullshit she was into. He didn't believe it at all, at first. Until she'd sent him a birthday gift. And then another. Sharing supplies had become commonplace, if only, in one direction. And in the corner of his room he had a partially unfinished gadget, a window, it looked like. Eternally black and empty. But once with a purpose.

 

They were going to survive. If only, to give eachother some platonic company.

 

But, obviously that hadn't went according to plan.

 

 

Shit, this spacing out thing of his had really become a bad habit. Remembering all of this was just making him more upset, in the end.

 

Brushing one hand over his face and wiping away the sea spray, Dirk sighed heavily and shook his head. There was another day. Gone. He hadn't gotten anything done again and it was beginning to take it's toll. Because when you were depressed, you tended to stagnate.

 

In the first couple days after her death he thought, maybe he'd finish the link after-all. She deserved a burial, at the very least. But that's the funny thing about depression and the worse it gets. When you think of anything even remotely productive, your mind screams back at you that NO, you don't want to do that. You have no motivation or time for such things. Maybe take a little longer, procrastinate a little more. That's it. Just stay inside, not like you have a choice.

 

And it bullies you into submission. Away from the open window and the ocean, and back towards the bed you never used. The nightmares you had were way too bad. But they always came anyway. He pushed himself to the very brink of exhaustion until his body couldn't take it anymore and he would black out wherever he stood. Which used to be his many work benches, but since that always left him with a large crick in the neck he'd chosen to curling up in his bed in the tightest ball he could muster and wait. Sometimes it took minutes. And other times it took hours. Tonight he was unlucky enough for the latter.

 

* * *

 

When Dirk awoke again it was with a violent jolt. He did nothing but gasp once, reaching for the scar around his neck and trying to forget the searing pain he felt there. He always had these dreams, and they were becoming troublingly more frequent lately. Where he lost his head, again. And again. Repeatedly. For hours at a time, the same cycle. It'd be cut clean off and then back again just in time to be decapitated.

 

He hadn't even really noticed that he was shaking until he sat up, and looked at his hands. The sunlight was just beginning to pour through the windows, he could see it from the corners of his eyes, but he didn't look.

 

"You seem troubled."

 

With a jump worse than the one he'd been shaken awake with, Dirk's head whipped to the side in time to see- a man. Smiling where he leaned against the windowsill.

 

His hair was, really dark. A natural umber head of short waves that joined together in a stylish quiff at the front of his forehead, which was rather wide, and tan by the way. All of him was, like he was made of honey, broken only where there were big, dark beauty marks scattered haphazardly. Almost as if whoever's genes had made him had given up halfway on freckles and just said to hell with it, give him spots! But they were cute, and one quirked above his lips when he smiled, looking over Dirk's mess of a room and staring right through him. With eyes- deeper than green. A color he'd never got to see other than from pixels and poster board.

 

Dirk hadn't noticed he was still staring owlishly at him until the man sighed, and with the way he looked downcast, his eyelashes could almost brush his cheeks. 

 

"I figure it had to do a lot with the place you're in now, huh?"

 

He tried to speak, to raise his voice. Anything would be better than the silence this golden boy was receiving, but when Dirk tried to swallow, his mouth was bone dry.

 

"It is. I know that it is."

 

The angelic man let his head rest heavily on his folded arms, blinking slowly back at him until he could gain his bearings. It seems he understood. But although there were a million and one questions to ask, the first thing out of Dirk's mouth was an embarrassing croak.

 

"How are you doing that?"

 

Looking a little surprised by this, the mystery man raised his thick eyebrows and picked his head back up.

 

"What? Speaking? Well I figure that my verbal skills are rather well developed by now, thank you."

 

"No, uh." Thumbing in the direction of the sill, Dirk glanced down. "I was asking how you were holding yourself up like that, actually."

 

* * *

 

That's how it began, anyway. The mystery man at Dirk's window would come and go, but normally he kept to the window. He might sit in it, or come into another. Once they had an entire conversation in a sunny spot on his floor, but the moment the light began to fade he'd have to go again.

 

Jake. His name was Jake.

 

He never really did find out how exactly he got in every morning. Only that he was lonely and looking for a companion, just like Dirk was. So he would visit every single day. Sometimes from dawn until the afternoon, sometimes until evening. But the longer he stayed, each time, the harder it was to let him go. He told Dirk of an island far away where he came from, of the creatures that lived there and the many adventures he'd been on. It almost reminded Dirk of fairytales he used to read about online when he ran out of robotics manuals to pour over. Almost too good to be true. But the more and more often Jake lingered, the more he wanted to believe it.

 

Maybe, j u s t, maybe. There were other people out there. To be fair, Jake had said he lived alone too, but that was the same way he and Roxy had been and maybe? There was hope. Perhaps not in a day's distance away, maybe not even a week, but Jake had to have gotten here somehow. And the more Dirk thought, he plotted. He brought it up to Jake once. And ever the guy to talk about an adventure, he thought he'd be thrilled.

 

Or, he should have been.

 

But he had never seen Jake's eyes seem so sad before, so he dropped the subject entirely.

 

It had been weeks, when for once, he had a dream.

 

 

And they were sitting on the floor as usual, with the smell of saltwater in the air. The heat was especially wet and heady today while the dog days of July dragged on longer than the rest. Or it could have been June. But Dirk was never really that great with the concept of time.

 

Jake was laughing at something he said, and Dirk leaned back against the wall with a smirk on his lips. It had been so long since he actually smiled. But if he looked awkward or unpracticed, Jake said nothing about it. He turned to look at him with that sun-bright smile that came so naturally to him and wiped tears from his clover green eyes and sighed loudly. His shoulders slumped a little, and there in the sunlight, with his hair tinted with streaks of russet and gold, with dust motes lazily floating around him; Dirk was positive.

 

He was in love.

 

"Oh dear, I do believe that was a good one. You nearly had me splitting my sides!"

 

Laughing softly under his breath, Jake fixed him with a tender look and it made his heart melt. It always did.

 

"I wish it could always be like this.."

 

Dirk could feel the anticipation sending chills up his spine as his eyes slid towards Jake. It felt like he hadn't worn his shades in forever either. Not since Jake let him know how beautiful they were. He had been embarrassed, at first, but he felt nothing but comfortable now. Shrugging his shoulders and then tilting his head to crack his neck, Dirk hummed with thought.

 

"I mean, it could be. If we really tried."

 

That beautiful smile still on his face, confusion crossed Jake's features and furrowed his brows. And god, Dirk liked that expression too. And all of them. Everything about this beautiful boy of his dreams.

 

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

 

"I figured you wouldn't. That was the point."

 

As Dirk pushed himself back onto his feet and stepped around Jake, his guest turned his head to watch as he made his way towards one of his old worktables. There had been a sheet tossed over it for about three days now, covering the metal and scrap parts beneath it.

 

"Oh?"

 

"I've been working on a surprise."

 

"For me?"

 

Dirk heard as Jake picked himself up from where he was basking on the ground and smiled as he reached for the sheet.

 

"Well, a little bit of both."

 

Jake's eyes were looking over his shoulder when he finally peeled the sheet back, and he could hear his soft gasp when he saw just what he'd been so adamantly working on in secret. Beneath his hands, Dirk stroked the thin sheet metal feathers on a pair of large, simple mechanic wings. Of course, he wasn't so adept at making such small, intricate parts as he used to. He could admit when he was a bit out of knack with his work, but they were fine, and they were beautiful.

 

A pair of wings.

 

He lifted them by the straps with a little effort and pointed towards the different lever systems that allowed them to flex and move.

 

"They're made of a light sodium alloy, which was easy enough to come by. Form fit into sheets and then, the pulleys I had to make out of a compound with Lithium, at least so it remains light enough to be aerodynamic, but-"

 

"Dirk, I don't-"

 

"All in all it's still strong enough to hold my weight. And these are thrusters that I figured could keep us in flight long enough to make it to your island. You did say it wasn't that far over the horizon, right?"

 

"Dirk, really-"

 

He could hardly stop himself, his words were running faster than his mind was until he was pretty sure he must sound like a mad man.

 

"And those sunsets! The trees, the monsters. We can see them again, together this time. I can help provide food, and maybe expand on that home you said you had. With all of the Uranium I could bring we would never have to rely on any other energy source. And I don't think I would make a / _terrible_ / roommate. I mean, I'm at least hygienic-"

 

" ** _DIRK. STOP THIS._** "

 

He shut up. When he glanced behind him, Jake was backing himself towards the window with his fists slowly unfurling from where they must have balled up. He still had his invention in his hands when his body turned to follow him. But the look in his eyes stopped him cold in his tracks.

 

"Dirk- I.. I don't exist, Dirk."

 

Letting out a breath of disbelief, he looked down at the contraption in his hands and shook his head, only slightly.

 

"...What?"

 

Jake's head hung between his shoulders that were rising like hackles. The man looked wounded, all traces of his happiness- gone. And it left Dirk feeling more bewildered than before.

 

"I don't exist, in the way you think I do."

 

When the silence was the only thing that responded, Jake continued, more slowly.

 

"I mean, I did. Maybe once. But not here, and not in this universe.. Not this way. Have you ever noticed, that I can't stay with you when the night comes?"

 

"I- well, yes, but I just figured.. you didn't want to share a bed or something? I can understand personal space."

 

That tore a sad snort from Jake, and with a shaky breath, his shoulders began to slump again.

 

"No, no. That's not it.. Believe me I don't mind being close to you again.. I thought, it might even be nice."

 

"....Again?"

 

Jake huffed, almost exasperated. But whether or not it was with himself or otherwise, Dirk couldn't tell. Maybe that was worse than knowing. But Jake was sitting on the windowsill again and Dirk didn't press, afraid he would leave.

 

"Yes, _again._ It doesn't matter now... I'm, only a remnant of what I was. Somewhere else. Far away from here. Far enough that you could never sail to it, even with the biggest boat full of steam you could build."

 

Meeting his eyes now, Dirk could see the sun. Right through them. The dying light over the ocean too. He saw the waves through Jake's torso and almost felt, disgusted with himself for not noticing sooner. He turned and carefully set the wings down behind him while he heard Jake shuffle on the windowsill.

 

"So you're some kind of figment of my imagination?"

 

"I'm afraid you didn't make me up. I am very real, just not, here. In this exact place, at this time. Jake English doesn't exist."

 

"...But what if he does?"

 

"Dirk. If you take those wings in search of an island; **_there will be none_**."

* * *

 

 

Jake didn't come again after that. As he'd dreaded, when Dirk brought himself to turning back around, he wasn't by his window anymore. Nor was he the next day. Or the next. And little by little, it hurt more. And it hurt less.

 

When he thought about Jake it brought forth a sense of longing that he couldn't really describe. Because every time he thought about the fact they had to know eachother- somewhere else. Somewhere, happier, it seemed. It hurt. His heart would ACHE, and all at once he'd steel it up again like he struggled and reminded himself not to. But how could he just- tell him, and let him go?

 

He could have lived without meeting anybody else. Any other day could have been the day he'd finally manage the courage to kill himself. He would die, thinking he was all alone in this endless expanse of sea. But now his mind ached worse.

 

Not knowing. If it was all some sort of heat-induced fever dream. The sun was so hot- boiling hot against his back while he climbed the rusting metal rungs he had scaled too many times before. The weathered metal was uneven and dug into his palms as he hauled himself up to the roof with a grunt, but he barely recognized pain anymore. Not like this.

 

If Jake was out there somewhere, alone like he was. Trying to survive. He knew that he had to find him. Regardless of what this, what, brain-ghost Jake (?) was telling him. Because the other half of his heart told him that, despite the fact that he COULD have been left alone to rot in the ocean. Jake hadn't let him.

 

Across a universe. Across the water. He found him in his apartment. And he had made him feel more alive than he could have in years.

 

Hot. Jesus Christ, it was burning hot. The metal against his arms was already heated by the unrelenting sunlight. He had to squint when he reached for the ignition, struggling to see the cord against the glare on his wings. There it was. It sprung to life like a miracle, and the engines spewed lava-hot air across his back.

 

Jake or not, an island was out there. Somewhere. In this flooded expanse, something must have survived. He had.

 

The air was little relief from the heat. Even while he tested his arms in the wings, preparing for take off brought little sanctuary. The sun was beating down on him, the metal casing felt worse than flames, the thrusters in action felt like third degree welts. A lot of pressure. He was under pressure.

 

All he had to do was take a running leap.

 

The sun was so bright, and so big and golden. He'd never seen it this close before. And it almost felt exhilirating, the way he could imagine his golden skin. Almost like he saw him, in that split moment when he flew. His eyes were as green as emeralds. He seemed troubled.

 

* * *

 

_"When Icarus fell, it was spring. A farmer was ploughing his field, the whole pageantry of the year was awake, tingling near. The edge of the sea, concerned with itself, sweating in the sun that melted the wings' wax. Unsignificantly off the coast there was a splash quite unnoticed._

 

**_This was Icarus, drowning."_ **

-William Carlos Williams


	5. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> //In which Karkat and Dave entered the new timeline, but remember everything that everyone else forgot. A semi-sadstuck drabble for @catsloveable!

There were some invisible changes happening around the meteor, and Dave didn't exactly like them. He didn't like, the whole not-knowing aspect of it all. As a Hero of Time, not Mind, nor a Seer, he felt like he had a pretty good hold on the imperceptible things. Like growing alliances, or broken ones; or what was suddenly irking his new close friends.

 

But on the other hand, even if he could see these things coming sometimes, he also wasn't the most subtle instigator. He wasn't great at breaching sensitive subjects with finesse, or resolving it as Kanaya tended to do (a lot better than Rose would, might he add). He just had this way of rambling until he said something he would never actually mean in 1,000 years to anybody he said it to, and it would fuck shit up. Today just happened to be, one of those fuck-shit days.

 

"Dude if this is about you and Terezi's weird, love-hate-sionship or some other troll quadratic romantic equation, can we put it on hold for a second? I'm up to my ears in this shit right now and it's starting to give me a headache."

 

EEEEHHHHHHHHHHH. Wrong answer dipwad. The buzzer sounds. There's a big stupid fucking idiot present on this metaphorical stakes-out gameshow. You know, the contestant probably behind his podium with his hand still hovering over his fucking answer button, palms sweaty as shit. The one that the overwhelmingly congenial game show host with the exaggerated hair and elongated facial features shakes his head at like; "Wow, that sure sucks buddy. Let's show you the correct answer to make you feel like a complete moron for the absolutely wrong answer you suggested." That big stupid fucking idiot behind his podium with the sweaty palms and disapproving gazes all around was you.

 

You'd never seen the guy sprint so fast for the transportalizer before. And these teleportation systems were finicky and at the very LEAST incredibly complex, so it had taken you way too long to follow after him. Your guilt was still palpable when you found yourself outside of Karkat's temporary respiteblock, with your eyes trained on yours shoes and the feet shuffling in them. Back and forth, again and again.

 

Every time you went to knock you re-evaluated everything you were going to say. That you were sorry, that you totally knew you had overstepped your boundaries again because your mind worked a lot slower than your mouth did. About how you KNEW the whole Terezi thing was still fresh and painful, and a lot of his friends were still dead and there was nothing you could do to fix that. But, a movie? Maybe?

 

UGH. No, that's fucking dumb. Sure, he'd probably be watching a movie by himself to cool down but Karkat wouldn't want anything to do with you right now. Coincidentally, you weren't really sure you wanted to dig all this up right now either. You'd kinda just been, pushing it away. Putting that shit on the back burner so that you didn't need to evaluate whether or not Terezi had ever felt some kind of mildly romantic feelings for you, or whether or not they were regular friendship feelings, or love feelings, or troll hate-love feelings-irregardless of the fact that she wasn't with the weird, insane clown fucker anymore and hung around with Vriska all day instead, who you thought was dead, but isn't, and it all never seemed to happen- FUCK. You could feel another one of those headaches coming on.

 

So before it could properly fester, you raised one hand and rapped your knuckles on the door. But lightly, because that shit was made out of metal and had no handle, and you didn't feel like breaking your fingers on top of all the shit you already had to deal with.

 

"Karkat, we should talk about this."

 

There was no immediate answer, which could be expected. Neither of you tended to like conversing about feelings with eachother, it's just that feelings jams tended to happen when provoked enough and it usually made you feel better afterwards. So you knew you had to keep pressing anyways.

 

"...Come on, bro. We can even watch one of your movies. The Troll Sense and Sensibilities or something."

 

Another long pause, long enough that you thought maybe this time you'd done it for good. But a mechanical buzz came from the door before it slid open way too fast, and you were staring down at Karkat.

 

His eyes were a little swollen and rimmed with red, but if he had any tears left he was already wiping them away on the sleeve of his sweater before he glared up at you. Really, managing to look angry with you even when you knew how tired he was, it was admirable.

 

"How many times have I told you? Adding 'Troll' to the title of something doesn't make it a troll thing. Especially with movies."

 

"No no, I know. I just figured if I started to recite the seven-page soliloquy that was written by your Troll Jane Austen, it would take way too long and you would pass out before you opened your door again."

 

He kept glaring right on up at you with those feral yellow eyes, and it always came to mind how much Trolls were like some kind of, animalistic version of people. But with more buggy features than human.

 

"Fair enough."

 

You seemed to talk him down just enough that he stepped aside so that you could follow him back into his room. It was a little big messier than you remember seeing it last, but not so much that it was suffocating. You did kick aside a sweatshirt as you walked by to settle down on the couch, and watched Karkat hesitate before he joined you.

 

There it was. More awkward silence you would have to push through, courtesy of hormonal interspecies teenage drama.

 

"I shouldn't have said that."

 

"No fucking shit, Sherlock. Did you deduce that all by yourself? I'm surprised you have enough brain cells left in that swollen think pan of yours. Wouldn't your ego get in the way?"

 

Ouch, okay.

 

"Alright, I deserved that. And I fully deserve any other word thrashing you have coming my way. But hear me out first; you aren't the only one affected by all this."

 

That, seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Because Karkat only further narrowed his eyes at you, slowly crossing his arms over his chest and glaring you up and down.

 

"Oh?? I don't exactly recall YOU having a best friend that ended up being a fucking psychopath, to which, for SOME ungodly, asinine fucking reason, the girl you had flushed feelings for, FOR SWEEPS MIND YOU, FUCKASS, found undeniably disgusting and attractive enough to have black solicitations with him behind your back, probably not even THREE FEET AWAY AT ANY GODFORSAKEN MOMENT ON THIS CLAUSTROPHOBIC HELLSCAPE MURDER-ROCK HURTLING THROUGH SPACE. Because LAST I FUCKING CHECKED apparently??? Your friends are AMAZING, and actually somewhat fucking RESPECT your miserable ass, and you aren't even their LEADER."

 

"Shit, Karkat, listen. I know it's all still pretty fresh, but I do know how it feels. Terezi was mad macking on me too, this is a dual-edged blade kinda situation."

 

Nope. That had done it. Dave could physically feel the weight of Karkat's stare on him now, like he was burning holes into his face. And when Dave looked him straight in the eyes, he regretted it.

 

"DON'T. EVEN. FUCKING. GO THERE, STRIDER."

 

"Wait, no. That's not how-"

 

Karkat stood up violently, nearly knocking his knees into the coffee table in front of him before he whipped around on you, his shoulders raised like hackles and those fat red tears welled up again. But he wasn't going to cry, you knew what was coming.

 

"You think you're SOOOOOOO fucking cool, don't you? Terezi didn't even FUCKING HUMAN LOVE YOU. She was fucking around with you, at best, and that's the ONLY thing our situation has in common. DON'T EVEN FUCKING PRETEND THAT YOU KNOW FOR ONE PATHETIC SECOND THAT YOU KNOW EVEN AN O U N C E OF THE PAIN I AM FUCKING FEELING RIGHT NOW. Let me dumb it the fuck down for you, since you don't seem to fucking GET it through that busted thinkpan of yours. I loved her for SWEEPS, okay?? And I don't know, what it is, or what she does, that makes me still kinda feel that way right now, fuck, maybe it's EVERYTHING she does!? But I DO, I fucking cared about her, and she went and fucking-"

 

He shuddered when he took a breath and you had to dig your hands into your knees to keep from reaching out to him, only making things more awkward.

 

"I thought we had-!.. SOMETHING, at least. That wouldn't fucking condone this! She could have- went back to Vriska! Or fucking, gog damn it, she could love EQUIUS for all I FUCKING CARE, she could do WHATEVER SHE WANTED. JUST- NOT. Not that."

 

By the time he'd finished speaking, he was partially turned away from you and wiping vigorously at his eyes with his sleeves. Karkat hiccuped, and that was when you took the notion to stand up slowly. While you got up, he flinched, and you paused for a moment. And then, like trying to tame a wounded animal, you carefully, opened your arms and moved to wrap them around him and though he struggled a little, he settled when you started to pat him on the shoulders.

 

"...Hey.. Bro, it's okay. It's over now, we're in an entirely different timeline than before. In fact, we don't ever have to talk about this again, if you don't want to."

 

When his only response was another quiet sniffle, you tried to make the mood a little lighter, taking this as a good sign.

 

"You're really ugly when you cry, you know? Snot, tears, the whole works."

 

Tearing out of your arms like a bullet, Karkat scowled back at you and you sighed, ready for another verbal onslaught. It was better than silence, but this guy seriously knew how to hurt someone.

 

"Fucking stop that!"

 

"Stop what, Mr. Krabs?"

 

"NO, stop that too! You fucking ignorant prick! I know what you're fucking doing. I don't want to just fucking FORGET again. You always want to blow it off, deal with it later, well it's been going on for way too fucking long. I need to HEAL you ASSHOLE."

 

"Karkat, jesus. Calm the fuck down. I'm just trying to help you out."

 

When you reached for him this time, he swatted your hand away and you pulled it back, rubbing the back of your arm with the force of it.

 

"OW, that actually fucking hurt. Stop trying to fight me, man."

 

"Then stop trying to fucking touch me!!"

 

"Karkat I want to-"

 

"No you fucking don't! Shut the hell up!"

 

"Dude, I'm seriously worried-"

 

Ugh, the way he interrupted and raised his voice for leverage was really beginning to get on your nerves.

 

"YOU ONLY MAKE IT WORSE. I DON'T WANT YOUR HELP, DAVE."

 

"That's a fucking lie and we both know it."

 

"WHAT THE H E L L DO YOU FUCKING WANT FROM ME!!?"

 

You balled up your fists and could feel them shake, watching as Karkat's whole demeanor began to drop.

 

 

 

" _ **I WANT Y O U, FUCKASS**_."


	6. RESTLESS SEA IS NOW A THING!

**SO!** As by request, I did start writing the merstuck drabble as a story! And it's up on my profile now in my works! it's called Restless Sea!

 

And there will also be another idea I had for a kingdomstuck Dirkjake fic, that is also (technically) up already called Fleur De Lune!!!

 

I figured I would keep y'all updated on that. Things have been rather rough lately. On and off money has been tighter, and the stress it's put me and Jake under had k i n d a sorta been keeping me less-than-inspired. So updates on everything might be a little sporadic. But I have a job again, and while we're trying to get back up on our feet I will update when I can! That includes this drabble/one-shot work! So expect more content incoming!


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